Development Committee

Simon Freakley, Chair

Simon Freakley is Chief Executive of Zolfo Cooper, a financial advisory and corporate restructuring consultancy firm. He has been a Trustee of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington for 4 years and a Trustee of Grange Park Opera for 12 years. He was formerly a Trustee of the English National Ballet for 6 years and at different times has sat on the Development Boards of the English National Opera and the New York City Ballet.

John Nickson

John Nickson hs been head of fundraising at The British Council, English National Opera, The Royal Academy of Arts and Tate. He is currently a senior advisor for Tate and United World Colleges , a mentor and lecturer for the Clore Arts Leadership programme and is also a member of the Royal College of Music's Development Steering Group.

Victoria Sharp, Chief Executive

Victoria Sharp was educated in the US at Phillips Academy, Andover and at Wesleyan University in Connecticut where she gained a BA in the History of Art. In 1982, she joined the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Goldman Sachs moving with them in 1984 to London initially to help establish the Capital Markets Group and ultimately working in Corporate Finance. In 1987, she joined Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the leading international executive search firms.

In 1991, Victoria returned to post-graduate studies in 18th century British Art at the Courtauld Institute, subsequently joining the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. There she worked with John Ingamells, formerly the Director of the Wallace Collection, collaborating on two books: A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers to Italy, 1701-1800 and Allan Ramsay: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, both published by Yale University Press.

Victoria is currently a Trustee of the Foundling Museum and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and is on the Council of the Royal College of Music.

Sian Westerman

Sian Westerman is a Managing Director in the Global Financial Advisory Division of Rothschild. In this role, Sian specialises in complex mergers, acquisitions and disposals, capital raisings, corporate governance, strategic advice and investor communication issues. She is also Global Head of Marketing for the Rothschild Group.
Sian is a Director of N M Rothschild Corporate Finance Limited, a Non-Executive Director of A.S.H.S Limited, the holding company for the business of Anya Hindmarch and a Director of Westside Independent School, a school focused on getting students back on track with their studies. She qualified as a solicitor with Slaughter and May in 1988 and holds an LLB (French) from the University of Birmingham. In 2003 she was named Harpers & Queen/Chanel Business Woman of the Year. She is a Steering Committee member of the 30% Club, a neutral organisation aiming to increase gender balance on UK Corporate Boards, and a member of the Eton College Campaign Board.